diff --git a/src/Reader.cc b/src/Reader.cc
index 94982fb0a..0318b01ec 100644
--- a/src/Reader.cc
+++ b/src/Reader.cc
@@ -34,7 +34,13 @@ podio::Frame Reader::readNextFrame(const std::string& name) {
 }
 
 podio::Frame Reader::readFrame(const std::string& name, size_t index) {
-  return m_reader->readEntry(name, index);
+  auto frame = m_reader->readEntry(name, index);
+  if (frame) {
+    return std::move(frame.value());
+  } else {
+    std::cout << "No frames available for category " << name << " at index " << index << std::endl;
+    return podio::Frame();
+  }
 }
 
 size_t Reader::getEntries(const std::string& name) {