Orpheus Pledger: Manhunt for Home and Away star who escaped police to go on the ... trends now
A former Home and Away star is on the run from police after he escaped from custody moments before he faced court on assault charges.
Orpheus Pledger, 30, was escorted by police to Royal Melbourne Hospital, near the city's CBD, about 3:30am on Tuesday to undergo a mental health assessment.
But a court heard he still had not been seen by medics by about 9:10am, when he is alleged to have just got up and walked out, in breach of his bail conditions.
Pledger now remains at large with police launching a manhunt for him after a warrant for his arrest was issued.
The scape came after Magistrate Justin Foster said he had 'bent over backwards' to approve the assessment in Melbourne's Magistrate Court on Monday.
The former actor - who played Mason Morgan on the soap for 339 episodes from 2016 to 2019 - had been remanded in custody since his arrest on March 27.
The court heard Pledger had been arrested the day after he allegedly assaulted the same woman - who can't be identified for legal reasons - for a ninth time since 2021.
Security footage of the incident allegedly showed Pledger grabbing her hair and throwing her to the ground before stomping on her head.
Former Home and Away star Orpheus Pledger is on the run from police after escaping from a hospital to receive a mental health assessment while facing assault charges
Pledger was expected to undergo the assessment in hospital and return to court on Tuesday to have his bail conditions reassessed.
If he was to accept mental health support, he would have appeared via video link, or otherwise appear in person.
When his case was called by Magistrate
