diff --git a/base/utf8.jl b/base/utf8.jl
index dabea3ab98529..387b3200a598d 100644
--- a/base/utf8.jl
+++ b/base/utf8.jl
@@ -135,7 +135,7 @@ function search(s::UTF8String, c::Char, i::Integer)
         throw(BoundsError(s, i))
     end
     d = s.data
-    if !is_utf8_start(d[i])
+    if is_valid_continuation(d[i])
         throw(UnicodeError(UTF_ERR_INVALID_INDEX, i, d[i]))
     end
     c < Char(0x80) && return search(d, c%UInt8, i)