When Dog The Bounty Hunter reached the height of its popularity on reality television, one of the most popular cast members was Dog’s son, Leland Chapman.
But years later, Leland seems to have just disappeared.
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What’s Leland Up to These Days?
Many Dog fans will remember that Leland and his brother, Duane Lee, quit the reality show in 2011.
And it all played out in an episode that aired in March the following year.
Leland’s Wikipedia page states that he’s lived and worked on the Big Island of Hawaii since 2021.
On social media, he also mentions that he’s an entrepreneur.
Leland owned a bail bond company, Kama’aina Bail Bonds.
And he also operated Dog’s old business, Da Kine Bail Bonds, in Oahu, Hawaii.
It appears that Leland and Dog have reconnected professionally and are personally as close as ever.
The U.S. Sun did report that Leland moved to Alabama in 2015, and there’s proof that he did that for love.
Leland married his second wife, Jamie, in 2016, and she’s from Alabama.
He has a daughter named Leiah and two sons named Cobie and Dakota, from previous relationships.
Why Was Leland ‘Rushed to the Hospital’?
When Leland was back to bounty hunting with Dog on and off camera, multiple reports in the U.S. Sun revealed the truth about a serious, life-changing injury that he sustained during a manhunt in Colorado.
The Sun reported that Leland revealed everything in an interview with Entertainment Tonight.
He got “rushed to the hospital” after a run-in with a suspect.
Leland suffered a torn knee ligament during the chase, and this serious injury has affected his life and health ever since.
He explained that the bounty hunters had learned the suspect’s whereabouts and quickly drove to the “manhunt location.”
When Leland saw the suspect, he exited the vehicle and tried to “catch him.”
Allegedly, the suspect didn’t stop when Leland called out to him, and Leland said that the suspect “slipped and fell” at one point.
Dog yelled out, “Grab a car,” to keep chasing the suspect, and Leland said, “I jumped in the first vehicle I see.”
Leland claimed that the other bounty hunters were “kinda close” to the suspect, and he figured that he could cut him off with his vehicle so that the suspect wouldn’t escape capture.
Unfortunately, that isn’t how this situation played out.
As Leland drove closer to the suspect, he claimed he made “eye contact” with the man.
Leland said that the guy looked “tired.”
He thought, “I can keep up with him!”
But Leland was already injured at this point.
He told Entertainment Tonight that he jumped out of the car and was “hobbling along,” chasing the suspect when the guy ran through a gate and slammed it shut in Leland’s face.
Leland Said ‘… I Felt Like I Was Walking on Sand’
Operating on instinct, Leland said he tried to “kick” the gate open, but as he explained to ET, the gate “kind of flexed’ when he tried kicking it open, and then it severed off his Achilles tendon.
It sounded like Leland went into shock when he said, “I put my foot down, I kind of felt like it was asleep. I felt like I was walking on sand.”
He didn’t know how badly injured he was, and he figured he could “still catch” the suspect.
He told ET that he “hobbled around” a shed and saw the suspect trying to climb a fence.
Leland said he got “one shot” into the suspect with his taser, and the guy ended up “laying on the ground long enough for everybody to kind of catch up.”
Leland Clapped Back at Online Haters
Many have said that it was a pretty heroic thing for Leland to pull off, but that hasn’t stopped some online trolls from making fun of him for how he looks now after suffering this chronic injury.
The Sun reported that trolls have posted harsh comments about Leland’s “dad bod,” and he has had to “clap back” at the online haters.
Several years ago, when Leland was 43, he explained on social media that he “can’t even walk” and that his injuries had taken a significant toll on his once muscular body.
On one occasion, Leland had to defend himself after posting a shirtless photo with Jamie during a July 4th celebration.
One of his followers joked, “Where’s the six-pack?” while someone else commented, “You’re gaining weight.”
Leland responded that it was “hard to work out when you can’t even walk.”
He added, “I will be better… soon.”
Another sad side to this story is that Leland was hospitalized “just days” after his stepmother Beth lost her life to cancer.
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Although the feud between Leland, Duane Lee, and Beth had initially made the brothers quit the reality show, inside sources claimed that Leland and Beth had mended their strained relationship before she passed away.
Leland and Jamie’s Strained Marriage
Inside sources also claimed that Jamie and Leland’s marriage became strained several years ago, and they were allegedly on the verge of divorce.
Fans noticed that Jamie posted messages on social media that hinted that she and Leland weren’t doing great, but if there was any truth to the rumors, they seemed to have made it through the rough patch.
The U.S. Sun reported that Jamie has worked as a 911 operator in emergency services.
Although Jamie was secretive about her job when she and Leland lived on the mainland, her social media posts claimed her work involved meeting with county jail representatives and captains.
Leland and Jamie also love their tattoos, and the Sun reported that Jamie is a former “tattoo model.”
Jamie’s Weight Loss Journey
Jamie has shared her weight loss journey on social media, and she was pretty honest with her followers when she revealed that “going to the gym after work feels like another meeting scheduled.”
Still, Jamie kept on and refused to “cancel” her fitness goals, and she was happy to report to her fans and followers that she was seeing a “huge change” in how she looked and felt.
Jamie wrote, “I have hustled to get here, and it feels good! Can’t wait to see what the results are for next month!”
With Leland and Jamie living back in Hawaii and running two bail bond operations in the state, Leland seems to have come a long way since his troubled childhood in Texas.
Why Leland’s Mom Surrendered Him to Foster Care
When Leland was an infant, Dog was arrested and sent to prison.
After Dog’s conviction, Leland’s mom, La Fonda Sue Darnall, divorced Dog and married another guy.
Leland grew up thinking his stepfather was his actual dad, and he misbehaved so much at home that his mom ended up surrendering him to foster care.
Leland started on a better path when he was 17 years old.
Doctors Told Leland He Would ‘Lose His Leg Completely’
He began training in Mixed Martial Arts and boxing.
Inside sources claim that Leland could have made the pros as an MMA fighter or boxer, but then he suffered a knee injury in the ring, and a sports doctor told Leland that he would “lose his leg completely” if he didn’t give up his favorite sports.
These days, inside sources claim that Leland is worth at least two million dollars.
He seems to be in a happy marriage with Jamie, and he’s re-established a great personal and working relationship with his dad, Dog the Bounty Hunter.
