Police hope missing 'Growing Pains' actor is 'just trying to lie low'

Los Angeles, California (News Terupdate) - Walter and Judy Koenig travel to Vancouver, British Columbia, Tuesday to join the search for their son Andrew Koenig, missing since last week.

The former "Growing Pains" star disappeared in Vancouver at about the same time his parents opened a letter from him, which they say had a "despondent tone."

Vancouver Police Constable Tim Fanning, speaking to HLN's Jane Velez-Mitchell show, said investigators have worked around the clock since getting the missing persons report Thursday.

"There's nothing right now to believe that anything has happened to him," Fanning said Monday evening. "Were certainly very concerned, as his family and friends. But there's no evidence to believe that there's foul play involved at this point."

Walter Koenig -- himself an actor known for his role as Pavel Chekov in the "Star Trek" series -- called police two days after his 41-year-old son missed his flight home to Los Angeles.

"People don't just fall off the face of the map without, obviously, having some sort of problems, and we're hoping that maybe he's just trying to lie low and, you know, spend some time by himself," Fanning said.

ATM transactions and cell phone records have given police some clues, he said.

"Perhaps he will hear the news reports of all the worry and concern, or somebody out there will be able to report that they've seen him," Fanning said.

Walter and Judy Koenig are scheduled to meet with police in Vancouver Tuesday evening, the father said.

Evidence that Andrew Koenig has been despondent recently has increased the concern.

The parents last talked on the phone to their son on February 9 -- a week before he failed to board his flight home, a family statement said.

"Andrew was suffering from depression at the time of his disappearance," the family said.

Andrew Koenig, who was in Vancouver to visit friends, was last seen by those friends at a Vancouver bakery on Valentines Day -- two days before the missed flight, police said.

A statement posted on Walter Koenig's personal Web site said that "Andrew sold or gave away a number of his possessions before flying to Canada and he refused a job, saying he 'wasn't going to work anymore.'"

Walter Koenig said he did not believe there was one specific incident that led to his son's disappearance.

"I think it's something that has been a part of his makeup for a long time," he said. "There's no single trauma. There's no episode. There's nothing of that nature." He also said drugs were not an issue.

Lance Miccio, a close friend, agreed.

"Its something he's been dealing with his whole life," Miccio told Velez-Mitchell. "It's not a sudden occurrence. This is something that he's, you know, he's dealt with, too."

He was described as being 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighing 135 pounds, with brown shoulder-length hair and brown eyes, authorities said. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to notify police.

Koenig appeared in 25 episodes of "Growing Pains" from 1985 to 1989, playing Richard "Boner" Stabone, according to a filmography posted on the Internet Movie Database Web site. He also has appeared in episodes of several other television shows.

He is described as "a gifted and passionate multitalented young man" on his father's Web site.

"Andrew performs at The Improv and is a camera operator for 'Never Not Funny,' and has had roles in the movies 'NonSeNse,' 'InAlienable,' 'The Theory of Everything,' 'Batman: Dead End,' and on television in 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine', 'G.I. Joe,' 'My Two Dads,' '21 Jump Street,' 'My Sister Sam,' and 'Adam-12,'" it said.

Koenig also edited, directed, produced and wrote many films, it said.

While the Koenigs are reaching out for public help, their son's disappearance is too painful for them to appear on camera to talk about it, Walter Koenig told CNN.

"I tried it once, and it was just too difficult," he said.

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