Police believe body of former ‘Growing Pains’ star Andrew Koenig has been found

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Actor Andrew Koenig, missing since Feb. 14, was found dead in Vancouver, Canada, on Thursday, CNN is confirming.

The body of the former ‘Growing Pains’ star was discovered in a Vancouver park, as reported earlier Thursday by TMZ.

Koenig, 41, was reported missing by his parents after he missed a flight to Los Angeles from Vancouver last week after visiting friends.

Vancouver police confirmed a body was found in Stanley Park about noon Thursday, but they would say only that it was ‘believed to be that of Andrew Koenig.’

Koenig’s parents issued an emotional plea on Wednesday for their son to contact them, and then made headlines after walking off of a scheduled appearance on ‘Larry King Live.’

‘We just want to know you’re OK,’ Walter Koenig said during the news conference.

Walter Koenig, best known for playing Pavel Chekov on the original ‘Star Trek’ television series, said his son had stopped taking antidepressant medication about a year ago.

‘We think he’s probably in a very depressed state,’ he said.

Vancouver police Constable Tim Fanning said in a report to the Associated Press that there has been no activity on Koenig’s cellphone or bank records since Feb. 16. Fanning said Vancouver’s sprawling, 1,000-acre, thickly forested Stanley Park, which Koenig loved, has been searched thoroughly.

‘There is no evidence to lead us to believe Andrew was in the park in the last few days,’ Fanning said.

Fanning said the actor has no history of drinking or drug use, and everything points to him still being in Vancouver. But, he added, ‘there’s no fresh place for us to search unless we get more information in.’

Multiple reports said the actor had cleaned out his Los Angeles apartment before coming to Vancouver.

Judith Koenig told the media that her son’s depression has been a concern. She said her son’s friends said he was detached before he vanished.

‘There was a certain pattern of closing out things, giving away things,’ she said.
A police news conference was set for 5 p.m. PST (8 p.m. EST).

-- Gerrick D. Kennedy