DANIELSON, Conn. -- The man who authorities pulled from Five Mile Pond on Saturday afternoon acted erratically before jumping into the water, authorities said.

Authorities identified the man as Troy Simonds, 24, saying he stripped naked and ran down Commerce Avenue in Danielson near the Killingly Glass and Connecticut Pet Farm stores at about 4 p.m.

Channel 3 Eyewitness News reporter Heather Hegedus reported friends of Simonds said he had a mental illness and may have been upset because he'd recently been going through a tough time.

"He just started walking and he just started stripping and then he just started running down the street," said Jeremy Francis, a witness.

"He stripped down and he was flapping his wings, hitting cars," said Jaquon Francis, a witness.

Hegedus reported a state trooper saw Simonds jump into the icy waters of Five Mile Pond. Ice boats responded to the water to search for Simonds.

Police said witnesses told them they saw a man in the pond briefly and he was struggling to stay above the water before disappearing.

"It was happening so fast and then he saw them go down in the water," Danielson Fire Chief Richard Levola said.

Five fire departments rushed to the area and dive teams from Plainfield and state police searched the water as Trooper 1 assisted from the air. The helicopter's light eventually spotted Simonds 40 yards off shore. Authorities pulled Simonds' body out of the water a little after 6:30 p.m., Hegedus reported.

Friends of Simonds said he had just been evicted from this apartment in Danielson and spent the last few days living on the street.

"Troy has been having some problems as of late, his girlfriend leaving him, his medications because he's bipolar," said Erica Perreault, a friend of Simonds. "He seemed to be a real sweetheart when he was a real nice guy."

"Troy's a good guy, I've never seen him be angry before or violence out of him," said Ryan Robbins, a friend of Simonds.

Hegedus reported Simonds had a baby on the way and was known not to be stable without his medication.