A Navy veteran found deceased in his Texas apartment was thought by officials to have died up to three years ago, the last time anyone heard from him.

The remains of Ronald Wayne White, 54, were in the DeSoto Town Center apartment in the Dallas suburbs “for an extended period of time, up to when he was last known alive three years ago,” according to the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office. White retired from the U.S. Navy as a chief petty officer in 2004 and had worked as a defense contractor since that time.