Without knowing the exact details I'm never going to judge a person from deciding their real life is more important. People who run private
trackers get very little benefit for the amount of time and effort they put in. Now the argument is that they should've known what they were getting themselves into, which is true, but it's also very hard to predict changes in your life two or three years down the track.
Also, reread my above comment. The owner did try to transfer ownership but it didn't work out - the new owner disappeared. So he came back and kept the site running for a little while to try and find someone else suitable. When he found out that all the prospective new owners wanted to clean out the existing staff and start afresh what is the point in watching your legacy fall apart?