And author is pretty explicit about this:

"But I want and can maintain it, can I take it over?" Let me put it plain and simple: No! I don't know you, I don't trust you! Fork it and carry on!

For something security critical like VPN, ownership change is a big deal. Users trust project's reputation. So if there is not a a trusted successor, shutting it down is way better that giving it up to unknown people.