diff --git a/archiva-base/archiva-indexer/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/archiva/indexer/search/DefaultCrossRepositorySearch.java b/archiva-base/archiva-indexer/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/archiva/indexer/search/DefaultCrossRepositorySearch.java
index a6af9094d..eb1676750 100644
--- a/archiva-base/archiva-indexer/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/archiva/indexer/search/DefaultCrossRepositorySearch.java
+++ b/archiva-base/archiva-indexer/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/archiva/indexer/search/DefaultCrossRepositorySearch.java
@@ -249,7 +249,10 @@ public class DefaultCrossRepositorySearch
         {
             try
             {
-                searcher.close();
+                if ( searcher != null )
+                {
+                    searcher.close();
+                }
             }
             catch ( IOException ie )
             {