diff --git a/src/pcre2grep.c b/src/pcre2grep.c
index d7410b4..d75917c 100644
--- a/src/pcre2grep.c
+++ b/src/pcre2grep.c
@@ -3051,7 +3051,8 @@ if (isdirectory(pathname))
       if (fnlength > FNBUFSIZ)
         {
         fprintf(stderr, "pcre2grep: recursive filename is too long\n");
-        return 2;
+        rc = 2;
+        break;
         }
       sprintf(buffer, "%s%c%s", pathname, FILESEP, nextfile);
       frc = grep_or_recurse(buffer, dir_recurse, FALSE);