diff --git a/Tusker/Views/Account Cell/AccountTableViewCell.swift b/Tusker/Views/Account Cell/AccountTableViewCell.swift
index 30869306..03f1cbd0 100644
--- a/Tusker/Views/Account Cell/AccountTableViewCell.swift	
+++ b/Tusker/Views/Account Cell/AccountTableViewCell.swift	
@@ -36,7 +36,8 @@ class AccountTableViewCell: UITableViewCell {
         avatarImageView.layer.cornerRadius = Preferences.shared.avatarStyle.cornerRadius(for: avatarImageView)
         
         guard let account = mastodonController.persistentContainer.account(for: accountID) else {
-            fatalError("Missing cached account \(accountID!)")
+            // this table view cell could be cached in a table view (e.g., SearchResultsViewController) for an account that's since been purged
+            return
         }
         displayNameLabel.updateForAccountDisplayName(account: account)