Los Angeles, California (CNN) -- When former "Growing Pains" actor Andrew Koenig missed his flight home to Los Angeles from Vancouver, British Columbia, last week, his father became worried.
Walter Koenig, an actor known for playing Pavel Chekov in the original "Star Trek" series, had just received a letter from his son that had a "despondent tone," according to a family statement on the father's Web site.
Two days later -- on February 18 -- the elder Koenig and his wife, Judy Koenig, called Vancouver police to report his 41-year-old son missing, Detective Raymond Payette said.
"Andrew has recently been despondent and his family and friends are concerned for his well-being," a police statement said.
The Koenigs are reaching out for public help, but their son's disappearance is too painful for them to appear on camera to talk about it, Walter Koenig said.
"I tried it once, and it was just too difficult," he said.
His parents last talked on the phone to their son on February 9 -- a week before he failed to board his flight home, the family statement said.
"Andrew was suffering from depression at the time of his disappearance," the family said.
Koenig, who was in Canada to visit friends, was last seen at a Vancouver bakery on February 14, two days before the missed flight, police said.
In the posting on his Web site, Walter Koenig said he did not believe any specific incident had 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.
Andrew Koenig 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 was asked to notify police.
Koenig appeared in 25 episodes of "Growing Pains" from 1985 to 1989, playing Richard "Boner" Stabone, according to the Internet Movie Database Web site. He also has appeared in episodes of several other TV shows, including "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," "G.I. Joe," "My Two Dads" and "21 Jump Street."
His father's Web site describes him as "a gifted and passionate, multitalented young man."
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