Two local police officers are being credited with saving the life of a man who tried to kill himself Monday afternoon.

Officers David Allen and James Murray were called to O�Gara Park after a hiker dialed 911 shortly before 6:30 p.m. and told a dispatcher he�d seen a man trying to hang himself on the high-tension wires in the woods.

The officers drove as far down the trail as they could and stopped when they came to a Jeep blocking the way. They ran to the high-tension lines, where Officer Allen saw the man.

�I observed the man tying a rope to the third crossbar of the tower, approximately 30 feet high,� Officer Allen wrote in his report. �The other end of the rope was tied around his neck in a noose-like fashion,�

The officers yelled to the man, telling him �not to go through with it,� but he grabbed the bar, hung on for a few seconds, then let go.

�He dropped about two feet and was then fully hanging from his neck,� the report said.

The officers climbed the tower and, with some difficulty, lifted the man, who was unconscious and turning purple. When the two officers were able to lift him enough to relieve the pressure of the noose, the man started to regain consciousness and was eventually able to place his feet on the rung of the tower.

With help from the officers, he was able to climb down and was taken by ambulance to a Worcester hospital for treatment and mental health assistance. Officers later learned the man, from another town, had been sending ominous text messages to a family member who called police. They also recovered several pages of suicide notes from inside his Jeep.

Police Chief David B. Darrin said he�s proud of the officers, who will receive commendation letters for their work. He also had high praise for the hiker who was alert and called 911.

�Without that caller and the officers, it certainly would have been a different outcome,� he said. "This is definitely one of those �above and beyond the call of duty� type things and they certainly put themselves in harm�s way."

The chief said he also has hope for the 39-year-old man involved.

�Hopefully this gives him pause and he can get with his family and reflect,� he said. �Not everyone gets a second chance.�