Ghost crabbing real? and Anyone lost a crab pot at Tomales?

I caught a Danielson-type crab put in Tomales when I was trolling for halibut (gotta love that 40# braid). It had about 25 ft of rope in 40 feet of water, oops. Based on algae growth and number of lost halibut rigs on it it was in the water for awhile but not years. Interestingly, there was nothing in the trap. I found another lost pot (no float on that one) at Doran last year and the same story, nothing inside. That got me thinking about the concerns over ghost crabbing by lost traps. It seems like, at least for Danielson-type traps, this may not be that big of a concern because crabs eventually push the doors open and escape. I wondering has anyone ever recovered a lost pot with anything in it?

The GO ID on the float was 1003516758 and the trap was blue. Float also had some propeller scars on it so it was probably just underwater at some time. Long shot I know, but if anyone wants to claim it let me know.

This is an interesting observation. It seems like there are so many variables and possible explanations involved here.

Is it a matter of the crabs no longer coming in once the bait is gone ? Once crabs are trapped and die inside, does the action of the ocean current break apart the crabs remains into small enough pieces that they can exit the cage openings ? On lighter Danielson-style cages with unweighted doors, do the crabs eventually scoot out when the door swings open in the current once theres no food left to keep their attention ?

Seems like the premise of an interesting long term experiment.