Dog The Bounty Hunter's Family Hit With Freak Accident That Kills His Grandson

Duane Chapman, popularly known as Dog the Bounty Hunter, and his family have been thrown into mourning after an in-house tragedy.

The television personality's wife's son just got involved in an unfortunate mishap that has now taken the life of the Bounty Hunter's 13-year-old grandson.

Duane 'Dog the Bounty Hunter' Chapman and his wife, Francie Frane, tied the knot in 2021 after they met via an intercepted phone call from Hunter to Frane's late husband, Bob.

The freak accident where the bounty hunter's stepson accidentally shot his grandson happened at the family home in Naples, Florida, on Saturday night. Gregory Zecca, Frane's son, reportedly hit Hunter's 13-year-old grandson with a bullet from his firearm, leading to his death.

Law enforcement claimed that they were called about a shooting around 8:00 PM Eastern Time at the property. Hunter and his wife have issued a prompt statement in response to the incident. According to them:

"We are grieving as a family over this incomprehensible, tragic accident and would ask for continued prayers as we grieve the loss of our beloved grandson, Anthony."

According to TMZ, Zecca was a regular on his stepfather's bounty-hunting team, alongside other family members. 

Hunter and Frane announced their engagement in 2020, about 10 months after Hunter's wife, Beth Chapman, passed away from throat cancer, three years after her 2017 diagnosis.

As shared by PEOPLE, Hunter revealed that he and his late wife had had serious discussions about the possibility of him moving on romantically after she passed. While he admitted to his sick wife that he would date again, he promised never to take off her name, which was tattooed on his chest.

A few years later, fate tied Hunter and Frane together after the bounty hunter made a phone call to his wife's late ex, demanding his services as an excavator. Frane's late husband had died from cancer in 2018, six months before Hunter lost his wife.

The phone call was the start of something extraordinary as Frane revealed that they both engaged in a lengthy conversation after he called back.

"As soon as I hung up the phone, I called my girlfriend and was like, 'Are you sitting down right now because you're not going to believe who I just talked to. She was screaming, 'I told you!'" Frane declared.

They reportedly helped each other work through their grief, and this solidified their connection and emotions towards each other. They tied the knot in Colorado and have remained happy ever since, with Frane joining him on bounty hunting trips.

Themedia personality reflected on the death of his wife, Beth, four years after her passing. The Blast reported that he seized the significant day of her death anniversary to announce a new addition to his already large family of 12 children.

According to him, another child of his was welcomed into the world on the same day his wife passed away, although in a much earlier year.

“For the last four years, this day was a terrible reminder of one of the greatest losses of my life. But God redeemed this day when I discovered my son Jon, whom I just met recently, was born on this day,” Chapman noted.

He introduced the world to his son, Jon, and his wife in the post, explaining that his day of sorrow had now taken on a new meaning. Forgetting to honor his late wife on the day, Chapman reminded his followers that “God restores and redeems,” as he wished Jon a happy birthday.

The TV star got in trouble for using a racist remark, and he explained to the public that he was falsely assured that he could use the n-word with no consequences.

As shared by The Blast, he revealed during an interview addressing the controversy that the friends he made while incarcerated in a Texas jail gave him the confidence to proceed. In his words:

“I have never been a racist. I’m 33.5 percent Apache. But because of over 15 years ago, I have an Achilles’ heel because I used the wrong word.”

He added that he thought he had a pass to go that route with the black community as Eminem once did, but that was not the case. On who actually gave him the pass to use the n-word, Chapman simply said “brothers.”

“I had just gotten out of prison in 1979 after spending time, 18 months in Texas, and it was probably three-fourths from the black tribe, so that was a word that we used back and forth, as maybe a compliment,” he added.

Chapman had won hearts on the screen for years, and he took it a step further in 2023 when he shared that his team had captured a woman accused of kidnapping a child and threatening her husband.

The Bounty Hunter had previously posted pictures of the kidnapper, identified as Ashley Durham, offering a cash reward of $10,000 for anyone with her location.

He encouraged anyone with any information on her whereabouts to reach out to him, adding, “Since no one answered the question, I wanted to hear, what state is she in. She could be in Florida, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, North Carolina, Seattle, or Ohio.”

Although he did not eventually disclose the location where she was captured, he duly updated concerned members of the public that his team had made significant headway in the case.

May the family of Duane ‘Dog The BountyHunter’ Chapman find the fortitude to bear the crippling loss.