diff --git a/src/vs/workbench/contrib/notebook/browser/contrib/find/findModel.ts b/src/vs/workbench/contrib/notebook/browser/contrib/find/findModel.ts
index 1d955dbbcdd..5c58ffda1bc 100644
--- a/src/vs/workbench/contrib/notebook/browser/contrib/find/findModel.ts
+++ b/src/vs/workbench/contrib/notebook/browser/contrib/find/findModel.ts
@@ -471,6 +471,9 @@ export class FindModel extends Disposable {
 	}
 
 	private async _compute(token: CancellationToken): Promise<CellFindMatchWithIndex[] | null> {
+		if (!this._notebookEditor.hasModel()) {
+			return null;
+		}
 		let ret: CellFindMatchWithIndex[] | null = null;
 		const val = this._state.searchString;
 		const wordSeparators = this._configurationService.inspect<string>('editor.wordSeparators').value;
@@ -485,13 +488,8 @@ export class FindModel extends Disposable {
 			includeMarkupPreview: !!this._state.filters?.markupPreview,
 			includeOutput: !!this._state.filters?.codeOutput
 		};
-		if (!val) {
-			ret = null;
-		} else if (!this._notebookEditor.hasModel()) {
-			ret = null;
-		} else {
-			ret = await this._notebookEditor.find(val, options, token);
-		}
+
+		ret = await this._notebookEditor.find(val, options, token);
 
 		if (token.isCancellationRequested) {
 			return null;
diff --git a/src/vs/workbench/contrib/notebook/browser/view/renderers/backLayerWebView.ts b/src/vs/workbench/contrib/notebook/browser/view/renderers/backLayerWebView.ts
index 4a3c05451ea..d45c567c327 100644
--- a/src/vs/workbench/contrib/notebook/browser/view/renderers/backLayerWebView.ts
+++ b/src/vs/workbench/contrib/notebook/browser/view/renderers/backLayerWebView.ts
@@ -1610,6 +1610,10 @@ export class BackLayerWebView<T extends ICommonCellInfo> extends Themable {
 
 	async find(query: string, options: { wholeWord?: boolean; caseSensitive?: boolean; includeMarkup: boolean; includeOutput: boolean; shouldGetSearchPreviewInfo: boolean; ownerID: string }): Promise<IFindMatch[]> {
 		if (query === '') {
+			this._sendMessageToWebview({
+				type: 'findStop',
+				ownerID: options.ownerID
+			});
 			return [];
 		}