Beth Chapman: ‘Dog the Bounty Hunter’ Duane Chapman Breaks Silence After Wife’s Death

Dog the Bounty Hunter star Duane “Dog” Chapman‘s wife, Beth Chapman, passed away on Wednesday, June 26 surrounded by family in Hawaii. Duane was the one to announce his wife’s death, using Twitter to share the sad news that Beth had passed on after her battle with cancer. She had previously been placed in a medically-induced coma after she reportedly had trouble breathing.

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

Fans immediately began offering prayers and support to the family in the wake of Beth’s passing.

Beth’s death came just days after she was put in a medically induced coma at a Hawaii hospital after she reportedly had trouble breathing and was “choking” at home. On June 22, the 51-year-old was rushed to Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu, where her family gathered to be by her side. The morning after Beth was hospitalized, Duane tweeted to fans, “Please say your prayers for Beth right now thank you love you.”

In 2017, Beth was diagnosed with throat cancer and was told she was cancer free. Unfortunately, the cancer returned in November 2018 and doctors gave her a terminal diagnosis. She was also hospitalized in April 2019 after having trouble breathing.

In a 2017 interview with PEOPLE, Duane made it clear he never wanted to leave his wife’s side.

“When we made a pledge many years ago,” Duane told the magazine. “I said I’d love her in sickness and in health until death do us part. And that truth has really, really come alive in my mind. And I have to stand on that; I gave her an oath that I would love her forever. And thank God it’s not till death do us part at this point.”

In the same interview, Beth said she hoped the one thing fans understood from her ordeal was how important it is to get checked out by doctors at the first sign something might be wrong.

“Early detection is key,” she told PEOPLE. “I probably had the scratchy throat for a year. When something feels wrong, you need to get it checked immediately. That’s the lesson here. Also, everyone needs to pay attention to what you put in your body. Your diet is so important.”

At one point during her cancer battle, Beth stopped getting chemotherapy treatments, a move that was controversial among fans. Instead, she chose to put her faith in God and saw it as an ultimate test of faith.

“Chemotherapy is not my bag, people. Sorry, that’s not for me,” she said at the Source Church in Florida in May. “So for me, this is the ultimate test of faith. This is my ultimate lesson. And it will either be taught to me or to you. And I am fine with taking the hit for everyone else. Because I think I know another guy who did the same thing.”