diff --git a/bin/messenger b/bin/messenger
index 72888ab..b678885 100755
--- a/bin/messenger
+++ b/bin/messenger
@@ -56,6 +56,8 @@ start_messenger() {
 }
 
 stop_messenger() {
+	pid=
+
 	if [ -f "$pid_file" ]; then
 		pid="$(cat "$pid_file")"
 	fi