Yeah which is what i'm debating but it has to make sense. Like if I was out in the middle of nowhere, it's pitch black, and the only source of light is my camera it'd make sense to take the camera. If there's a flashlight taped to it, i'd rip it off the camera and leave it behind unless it was really bolted on to it. Or there's no time to take it off.
The batteries, even back then, could last up to 9 hours. And it's believable for them to forget to switch off the recording when something more important is happening. So those things are not a problem. The last (most important) issue is if the footage is watchable. If it's too dark to see anything or it causes too much static, It'll change alot of things.