A man's size potentially played a role in him breaking through a layer of ice atop a Burnsville pond and dying, authorities said Wednesday.

Brett A. Stroud, 43, was seen by a passerby about 2:30 p.m. Monday in the water at Sunset Pond Park, near County Road 42 and Burnsville Parkway, said the Dakota County Sheriff's Office.

Stroud, a longtime resident of Hastings who recently moved to Savage, died after being hospitalized. Autopsy results were pending.

"It's possible his weight could not be held by the ice," said Tim Leslie, chief deputy of the Dakota County Sheriff's Office. "He was a big man."

Stroud's driver's license, which was renewed in August 2012, lists him as 6-foot 3-inches and 260 pounds.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482