Andrew Koenig had not been heard from since Feb. 14. He was visiting friends in Vancouver. (CBC)

The parents of actor Andrew Koenig, who had a role 1980s sitcom Growing Pains, say his body was found Thursday in Vancouver's Stanley Park.

Walter Koenig, the father of the 41-year-old Los Angeles native, said he received a call from a group of Andrew's friends who were checking out locations in the park that they knew Andrew liked and that they had found his body.

"I went to the site," a distraught Koenig told reporters near the site where the body was found. "My son took his own life.

"I want to say … what a great guy he was, a good human being. He was obviously in a lot of pain."

Vancouver police earlier issued a statement saying the discovery had been made about noon.

Disappeared Feb. 14

The younger Koenig disappeared on Feb. 14 and is best known for his recurring role as Richard (Boner) Stabone in the popular television show.

He had suffered from depression and was reported to have stopped taking medication for the condition last year. He had flown to Montreal and Toronto before visiting friends in Vancouver and was booked to fly back to Los Angeles on Feb. 16. He did not show up for the flight.

The elder Koenig and his wife Judy flew to Vancouver from California this week to help search for their son.

Judy and Walter Koenig talk to reporters Thursday, hours after their son's body was found in Stanley Park. (CBC)

On Wednesday, Walter Koenig told a news conference at the Vancouver Police Department that his son loved Vancouver and enjoyed visiting friends in the city.

Koenig, himself an actor who played the role of Russian crew member Pavel Chekov on the original Star Trek TV series, implored the public to look out for his son, mentioning Stanley Park as one of Andrew's favourite places.

With files from The Canadian Press