diff --git a/storage/utility/messageBuffer.go b/storage/utility/messageBuffer.go
index e1d7351b52c6fa8aa5d74779862baa085a11a5cf..d9c7ad749a3b1011c976fe97387dac281aec7086 100644
--- a/storage/utility/messageBuffer.go
+++ b/storage/utility/messageBuffer.go
@@ -270,6 +270,7 @@ func (mb *MessageBuffer) Next() (interface{}, bool) {
 		// Retrieve the message for storage
 		m, err = mb.handler.LoadMessage(mb.kv, makeStoredMessageKey(mb.key, h))
 		if err != nil {
+			m=nil
 			jww.ERROR.Printf("Failed to load message %s from store, "+
 				"this may happen on occasion due to replays to increase "+
 				"reliability: %v", h, err)