New details are emerging in the death of former Growing Pains actor Andrew Koenig. Koenig committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree in Vancouver’s Stanley Park, about a mile from downtown, a source “close to the investigation” told E! News this weekend.
Andrew — a 41-year-old described by friends as a compassionate vegan — is best remembered “Boner,” best friend of Kirk Cameron’s Mike Seaver on the popular ’80s sitcom. His father, actor Walter Koenig, who starred as Pavel Chekov in the television series Star Trek, said Thursday that his son took his own life. A search party of about 10 of Andrew’s friends decided to search for the severely-depressed Andrew in the park and broke up into teams to comb through the vast area. Shortly before noon, one of the teams discovered the body, sources tell E!:
“Koenig was discovered in a densely wooded area of native pines and brush, so deep into the forest off Stanely Park’s Bridle Path, one of dozens of trails in the 1,000-acre area, that it appeared to the search party that ‘Andrew didn’t want to be found,’ the source said. The person who found him then alerted the other searchers via cell phone, after which Koenig’s father, Walter, came to what was described as a “grisly” scene and identified his son…..”
During Thursday’s press conference, Walter Koenig made a tearful plea to anyone considering suicide:
“…There are people out there who really care. You may not think so, and ultimately it may not be enough. But there are people who really, really care…..”