EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Growing Pains Star Returned Personal Items, Turned Down Jobs Days Before Disappearance, Says Friend
Feb. 22 2010, Published 6:01 a.m. ET
Former Growing Pains star Andrew Koenig disconnected his home phone, turned down job opportunities and bagged up and returned personal items belonging to friends just before disappearing, RadarOnline.com has learned exclusively.
Andrew’s long-time friend and co-worker Lance Miccio told RadarOnline.com in an exclusive interview that the former child actor dropped off a bag containing a book, some old films and footage of the two of them just days before he went missing.
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Miccio’s revelations are an ominous sign as Andrew’s dad Walter Koenig, former Star Trek star, has appealed to the public to help find his son.
“He left me some things that I had at his place,” Miccio told RadarOnline.com. “I wasn’t even home at the time. He just put them in a bag and left it at my door.” That was Feb. 3.
The last time Miccio and Koenig spoke was on Feb. 4. Miccio, a film director, was using Koenig as an editor on several projects and called to tell him about a job. But Koenig turned it down.
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“I talked to him and I said, ‘Look, I’ve got a gig. Do you want to work on it? He said, ‘No, I can’t.’ He didn’t give a reason,” Miccio said. “But that’s Andrew. He may have had enough of the bulls*** of LA. He’s the kind of guy who could go off and live like that guy in the movie Into The Wild.
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Miccio confirmed that Andrew suffered from depression.
“He suffers from depression,” Miccio told RadarOnline.com. “He’s up, he’s down. I’m worried about him, I’m concerned about him but I’m hoping for the best. This could be serious. He could be lost or hurt.”
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Following Koenig’s disappearance on Feb. 14, Miccio tried calling the actor’s home phone and discovered it was disconnected. Koenig “didn’t like talking on cell phones” and only used a pager. Miccio said he tried paging his friend “two days ago” and got no response.
“I’m hoping for the best,” Miccio said. “Andrew, if you’re out there, please come back. You’re scaring the heck out of everybody.”