The spell Leomund's Secret Chest allows you to hide a chest full of goodies on the Ethereal Plane. According to the spell, the caster may use an action to return the chest to the Prime Material:
While the chest remains on the Ethereal Plane, you can use an action and touch the replica to recall the chest. It appears in an unoccupied space on the ground within 5 feet of you.
So, it is unclear whether anyone else may retrieve the loot chest, say after killing the caster. According to the spell:
If the spell ends and the larger chest is on the Ethereal Plane, it is irretrievably lost.
Does the death of the caster cause the spell to end? If not, is the loot chest essentially lost?