diff --git a/cJSON_Utils.c b/cJSON_Utils.c
index 8f99c2e..bd67201 100644
--- a/cJSON_Utils.c
+++ b/cJSON_Utils.c
@@ -279,16 +279,17 @@ static cJSON *get_item_from_pointer(cJSON * const object, const char * pointer,
             {
                 current_element = current_element->next;
             }
-            /* skip to the next path token or end of string */
-            while ((pointer[0] != '\0') && (pointer[0] != '/'))
-            {
-                pointer++;
-            }
         }
         else
         {
             return NULL;
         }
+
+        /* skip to the next path token or end of string */
+        while ((pointer[0] != '\0') && (pointer[0] != '/'))
+        {
+            pointer++;
+        }
     }
 
     return current_element;