Andrew Koenig, the missing “Growing Pains” actor, has been found dead of an apparent suicide. Koenig, 42 had been missing for more than a week, when his body was found by a search party in Vancouver’s Stanley Park on Thursday.
Shortly after his body was discovered, his father, Walter Koenig, held a brief press conference and in a broken, distraught voice told the world his son had been found dead and that “he had killed himself”.
Walter and Judy Koenig, Andrew’s parents, had come to Vancouver to help in the search for their son. As the Koenig’s searched one area of the park, 10 of their friends searched other areas of the park. Walter Koenig got a phone call from one of those searchers to say that they had found Andrew’s body.
Vancouver’s Stanley Park had already been searched last week by the Vancouver police. They had stopped the search of the park and were going under the pretense that Andrew was just “laying low” somewhere in Vancouver, due to the many sightings reported.
Although Walter Koenig was overwhelmed with grief and sadness, he said a few words at the press conference about depression. He pleaded that anyone suffering from this devastating disorder to “please get help” and to “tell someone”. He did not want to see another family suffer in this way.
Andrew Koenig’s behavior before he killed himself was text book for suicide. It appeared he had planned this for quite some time, at least a month. He had given 30 days notice to his land lord in LA and sold or gave away all of his belongings. A close friend of Andrew’s had offered him a job, one that he would have ordinarily jumped at, and he turned it down.
Andrew had left objects on friend’s doorsteps before leaving LA for Vancouver. He was making sure his friends got back their belongings that he had borrowed before going. The fact that Andrew cleaned out his apartment and got rid of all his belongings could have been done so his family did not have to do this once he completed what he had set out to do, suicide.
“Severely Depressed” is how family and friends described Andrew in the last few weeks before he died. The family has learned from friends that he had stopped taking his medication for depression.
Although the signs were all there that Andrew might be considering ending his life, they were seen in bits and pieces from different friends and family members. No one was able to put the entire picture together until Andrew went missing and people started to report his recent behaviors. This is so often the case in suicides, the signs are all there but because one is seen by this friend and another by a family member, they are not put together until it is too late. Just one of these behaviors alone would not necessarily be a red flag. Put them all together and they are cause for worry and concern.
References: Radaronline
