Michele Alderson, a Roanoke County police officer less than two years out of the police academy, began talking to the agitated man. She approached him slowly, but he moved over the railing, edging closer to a 160-foot drop into the rocky Roanoke River gorge below.

"I'll be there in 20 seconds," a fellow county police officer radioed.

"I'm not sure I'll have 20 seconds," responded Alderson.

A 911 call reporting a suicidal man on the Blue Ridge Parkway bridge came just before 11 p.m. Sunday night, according to Roanoke County police Assistant Chief Donna Furrow. Alderson, patrolling nearby, was the first officer to arrive and saw the man clinging to the edge of the bridge railing near mile post 114.

The man was clearly upset, Furrow said. He was standing on a 6-inch-wide ledge outside the bridge railing, enough space for about half of his foot.

"I thought for sure that the talking was going to be over shortly," said Lt. Mike Warner, a trained police negotiator who arrived minutes after Alderson.

By then, the man had developed a rapport with Alderson, so Warner coached her through what turned into nearly five hours of negotiation that ended successfully, with the man agreeing to come off the ledge. He was taken to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital for evaluation.

Crouched behind a police cruiser, Warner gave Alderson instructions on what to say through Alderson's radio earpiece. She scratched her head or tilted her neck to acknowledge she understood.

"Inch by inch, he would stand up," Warner said. "Periodically he would almost get ready to come over and then his mood would change. It took awhile to build that trust."

The tense dance lasted into the early morning. At 3:45 a.m., after nearly five hot, muggy hours of discussion, the man turned, crossed the railing and went to the hospital.

Warner, a 28-year veteran, said the negotiation was unique but successful.

"There were several times that I said, 'This isn't going well,' " Warner said. "We were out of options. There's no safety net."

A suicidal woman was saved by a Roanoke police officer when she attempted to jump off the 10th Street bridge April 27. Warner noted the unrelated rescues are why many officers enter their field -- "to help others."

Warner and Alderson were back at work Monday.