Walter Koenig seeks help to find son, 'Growing Pains' actor
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 Enlarge | Photo provided by walterkoenigsite.com |
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| Andrew Koenig appeared as "Boner" in 1980's sitcom Growing Pains. He's the son of actor Walter Koenig,who played (Chekov on original Star Trek.) |
VANCOUVER — The parents of missing American actor Andrew Koenig made an emotional public appeal Wednesday for help locating their 41-year-old son, who mysteriously disappeared nearly two weeks ago after visiting friends.
In a barely audible voice, Walter Koenig, also an actor known for his role as Pavel Chekov on the original Star Trek series, directly called on his son to contact them, imploring:
"We just want to know you are OK. You don't have to come back (to California), just let us know you are OK," he said, choking back tears.
The well-being of the actor, known for his role as Richard "Boner" Stabone on the popular television series Growing Pains, is of special concern because of the man's life-long battle with depression, the father said.
Koenig said his son was prescribed anti-depressants but stopped taking the medication about a year ago.
Both his father and mother, Judith Koenig, said they feared he may harm himself.
"We think he is in a very depressed state," the mother said, adding that their concern was heightened after learning recently that Koenig had begun giving away some of his personal possessions.
Standing next to a monitor displaying a recent photograph of her son with shoulder-length brown hair, Judith Koenig appealed to local residents and thousands of Olympic visitors to "search your mind" over the last two weeks on the chance that someone may have spotted their son on the street or even at one of the Olympic venues.
Police Constable Tim Fanning said investigators still believe Koenig, who once lived in Vancouver, remains in the area because he is familiar with the city and because of his relatively recent use — Feb. 16 — of a cellphone and bank card. He said the man had no prior history of drug or alcohol abuse.
Koenig was last seen Feb. 14; he was reported missing Feb. 18, after failing to return to California Feb. 16, on a scheduled flight from Vancouver.
With thousands of people in the city for the Olympics, Fanning said the large crowds could be hindering the search. He said investigators completed a search of Stanley Park, a 1,000-acre urban open space that Koenig favored while living here, but found nothing.
"There is no fresh place for us to search unless we get more information in," Fanning said.
Since Koenig's disappearance was made public Sunday, posters bearing his photograph have been appearing on street light poles and in storefront windows in some of the most highly trafficked areas of the city.
Fanning says dozens of officers, including a search-and-rescue team from North Vancouver, have been working the case. And all of Vancouver's 1,400 officers, most working Olympic-related duties, also are watching for him, the constable said.
"We are just hopeful that he is safe and sound," Fanning said.
Walter and Judith Koenig said they will remain in the city for the next several days to do "anything we can" to locate their son.
"You are loved," the mother said, calling out to her son. "You count and you matter."
Walter Koenig seeks help to find son, 'Growing Pains' actor
