Index: modules/node/node.module
===================================================================
--- modules/node/node.module	(revision 1430)
+++ modules/node/node.module	(working copy)
@@ -1809,7 +1809,12 @@
  *   The node to index.
  */
 function _node_index_node($node) {
+  $nid = $node->nid;
   $node = node_load($node->nid);
+  if (!$node) {
+    search_wipe($nid, 'node');
+    return;
+  }
 
   // save the changed time of the most recent indexed node, for the search results half-life calculation
   variable_set('node_cron_last', $node->changed);