Boner Nowhere To Be Found

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, called Vancouver police to report their 41-year-old son missing.

Koenig appeared in 25 episodes of “Growing Pains” from 1985 to 1989, playing Richard “Boner” Stabone, according to the Internet Movie Database Web site.

This isn’t intended to poke fun at Boner’s misfortune. This is simply to take advantage of a phenomenon that will soon be gone. Probably the last character to bear the name Boner on a network television show is in the news, and the may be the final time. I never really knew how to feel about the fact that there was a fellow on Growing Pains named Boner. All I know is it’s one of the top 10 most notorious sitcom character names of all time; up there with the likes of Screech, Urkel, Carlton, Corky, and Cockroach. So all jokes aside, I hope he’s okay and they find him. All jokes back inside, I’d like to have a few more Boners in my life.

UPDATE: Boner’s body was found today (2/25) in Vancouver.