Beth Chapman, star of ‘Dog the Bounty Hunter,’ dies at 51

Beth Chapman, former star of the reality show “Dog the Bounty Hunter,” has died after a battle with cancer. She was 51.

Her husband and costar, Duane “Dog” Chapman, confirmed her death via Twitter on Wednesday with words of love.

“It’s 5:32 in Hawaii, this is the time she would wake up to go hike Koko Head mountain,” he wrote. “Only today, she hiked the stairway to heaven. We all love you, Beth. See you on the other side.”

Mona Wood-Sword, a family spokesperson, provided a statement to the Associated Press with details of Beth Chapman’s final moments. According to Wood-Sword, Chapman experienced difficulty breathing and temporarily passed out on Friday, before waking up and receiving oxygen from emergency responders at her home in Honolulu. Medical professionals then transferred her to a Honolulu hospital and put her in a medically induced coma.

Duane Chapman has documented his wife’s condition on social media from the time of her Stage 2 throat cancer diagnosis in 2017. According to the Associated Press, she later beat throat cancer before receiving another cancer diagnosis — Stage 4 lung cancer — in November 2018.

On Sunday, Duane Chapman shared on Twitter that his wife had been admitted to Queen’s Medical Center in Hawaii and put in a medically induced coma. He later posted a photo of his wife’s hand resting in her hospital bed with a full manicure.

“You all know how she is about HER NAILS!” he captioned the photo, before asking his followers to “please keep prayers coming.”

The couple enjoyed a long run together on their reality show, “Dog the Bounty Hunter,” which first aired on A&E in 2004. The series documented several milestones in the pair’s life, including their Big Island wedding in 2006 after 16 years of dating, as well as their adventures apprehending wanted suspects. They later starred together in a CMT spinoff titled “Dog and Beth: On the Hunt.”

Duane Chapman gained global fame after he nabbed serial rapist and Max Factor heir Andrew Luster in Mexico in 2003.

The Professional Bail Agents of the United States later elected Beth Chapman president, the AP reported. She also held the record for the youngest person to obtain a bail license in Colorado at 29. Her stepdaughter, Lyssa Chapman, later bested her by receiving her license at 19.

Beth Chapman was born Elizabeth Smith in Denver and had lived in Honolulu since 1989. She is survived by husband and their two children, Bonnie Joanne and Garry.