Wandering away from the board

Over at the 'Susan Polgar Chess Daily News' blog there is a story about a player who left the board, and when he returned found it had been packed away. To his displeasure he also found that the game had been awarded to his opponent. If you wish to read the whole story (and as a bonus get an insight into current US chess politics) click here.
I've actually seen this happen in a previous Doeberl Cup, in a game involving Lloyd Fell (IIRC). In this case it was during the last round, when the organisers were beginning to pack equipment away. The usual practice was to wait until a game had finished and then pack up. In the game in question it seems both players were away from the board (both I suspect having moved and gone for a toilet break), and an overly zealous helper swooped on the abandoned chess set. In this case neither player was defaulted, and the position and times were reset according to the players score sheets and memories, and the game reached a more sensible conclusion.