diff --git a/Sources/Find/SurfaceSearchOverlay.swift b/Sources/Find/SurfaceSearchOverlay.swift
index 44b37433..17c795e6 100644
--- a/Sources/Find/SurfaceSearchOverlay.swift
+++ b/Sources/Find/SurfaceSearchOverlay.swift
@@ -2,6 +2,19 @@ import AppKit
 import Bonsplit
 import SwiftUI
 
+private extension NSView {
+    func cmuxAncestor<T: NSView>(of type: T.Type) -> T? {
+        var current: NSView? = self
+        while let view = current {
+            if let target = view as? T {
+                return target
+            }
+            current = view.superview
+        }
+        return nil
+    }
+}
+
 struct SurfaceSearchOverlay: View {
     let tabId: UUID
     let surfaceId: UUID
@@ -268,6 +281,7 @@ private struct SearchTextFieldRepresentable: NSViewRepresentable {
             case #selector(NSResponder.cancelOperation(_:)):
                 // Don't intercept Escape during CJK IME composition (issue #118)
                 if textView.hasMarkedText() { return false }
+                control.cmuxAncestor(of: GhosttySurfaceScrollView.self)?.beginFindEscapeSuppression()
                 parent.onEscape()
                 return true
             case #selector(NSResponder.insertNewline(_:)):
diff --git a/Sources/GhosttyTerminalView.swift b/Sources/GhosttyTerminalView.swift
index 8f946c4c..106b35a1 100644
--- a/Sources/GhosttyTerminalView.swift
+++ b/Sources/GhosttyTerminalView.swift
@@ -2915,6 +2915,7 @@ class GhosttyNSView: NSView, NSUserInterfaceValidations {
 	    private var lastScrollEventTime: CFTimeInterval = 0
     private var visibleInUI: Bool = true
     private var pendingSurfaceSize: CGSize?
+    private var isFindEscapeSuppressionArmed = false
 #if DEBUG
     private var lastSizeSkipSignature: String?
 #endif
@@ -3932,6 +3933,12 @@ class GhosttyNSView: NSView, NSUserInterfaceValidations {
             super.keyDown(with: event)
             return
         }
+        if event.keyCode != 53 {
+            endFindEscapeSuppression()
+        }
+        if shouldConsumeSuppressedFindEscape(event) {
+            return
+        }
         if handleKeyboardCopyModeIfNeeded(event, surface: surface) {
             keyboardCopyModeConsumedKeyUps.insert(event.keyCode)
             return
@@ -4144,6 +4151,16 @@ class GhosttyNSView: NSView, NSUserInterfaceValidations {
             super.keyUp(with: event)
             return
         }
+        if event.keyCode != 53 {
+            endFindEscapeSuppression()
+        }
+        if shouldConsumeSuppressedFindEscape(event) {
+            endFindEscapeSuppression()
+            return
+        }
+        if event.keyCode == 53 {
+            endFindEscapeSuppression()
+        }
 
         if keyboardCopyModeConsumedKeyUps.remove(event.keyCode) != nil {
             return
@@ -4196,6 +4213,21 @@ class GhosttyNSView: NSView, NSUserInterfaceValidations {
         return ghostty_input_mods_e(rawValue: mods)
     }
 
+    func beginFindEscapeSuppression() {
+        isFindEscapeSuppressionArmed = true
+    }
+
+    private func endFindEscapeSuppression() {
+        isFindEscapeSuppressionArmed = false
+    }
+
+    private func shouldConsumeSuppressedFindEscape(_ event: NSEvent) -> Bool {
+        guard event.keyCode == 53 else { return false }
+        let flags = event.modifierFlags.intersection(.deviceIndependentFlagsMask)
+        guard flags.isEmpty else { return false }
+        return isFindEscapeSuppressionArmed
+    }
+
     /// Get the characters for a key event with control character handling.
     /// When control is pressed, we get the character without the control modifier
     /// so Ghostty's KeyEncoder can apply its own control character encoding.
@@ -5292,6 +5324,10 @@ final class GhosttySurfaceScrollView: NSView {
         }
     }
 
+    func beginFindEscapeSuppression() {
+        surfaceView.beginFindEscapeSuppression()
+    }
+
     func setTriggerFlashHandler(_ handler: (() -> Void)?) {
         surfaceView.onTriggerFlash = handler
     }
diff --git a/cmuxTests/CmuxWebViewKeyEquivalentTests.swift b/cmuxTests/CmuxWebViewKeyEquivalentTests.swift
index ffedcee4..658ef0b0 100644
--- a/cmuxTests/CmuxWebViewKeyEquivalentTests.swift
+++ b/cmuxTests/CmuxWebViewKeyEquivalentTests.swift
@@ -8299,6 +8299,18 @@ final class GhosttySurfaceOverlayTests: XCTestCase {
         }
     }
 
+    private func findEditableTextField(in view: NSView) -> NSTextField? {
+        if let field = view as? NSTextField, field.isEditable {
+            return field
+        }
+        for subview in view.subviews {
+            if let field = findEditableTextField(in: subview) {
+                return field
+            }
+        }
+        return nil
+    }
+
     func testTrackpadScrollRoutesToTerminalSurfaceAndPreservesKeyboardFocusPath() {
         let window = NSWindow(
             contentRect: NSRect(x: 0, y: 0, width: 360, height: 240),
@@ -8437,6 +8449,100 @@ final class GhosttySurfaceOverlayTests: XCTestCase {
         XCTAssertFalse(hostedView.debugHasSearchOverlay())
     }
 
+    func testEscapeDismissingFindOverlayDoesNotLeakEscapeKeyUpToTerminal() {
+        _ = NSApplication.shared
+
+        let surface = TerminalSurface(
+            tabId: UUID(),
+            context: GHOSTTY_SURFACE_CONTEXT_SPLIT,
+            configTemplate: nil,
+            workingDirectory: nil
+        )
+        let hostedView = surface.hostedView
+
+        let window = NSWindow(
+            contentRect: NSRect(x: 0, y: 0, width: 360, height: 240),
+            styleMask: [.titled, .closable],
+            backing: .buffered,
+            defer: false
+        )
+        defer {
+            GhosttyNSView.debugGhosttySurfaceKeyEventObserver = nil
+            window.orderOut(nil)
+        }
+
+        guard let contentView = window.contentView else {
+            XCTFail("Expected content view")
+            return
+        }
+        hostedView.frame = contentView.bounds
+        hostedView.autoresizingMask = [.width, .height]
+        contentView.addSubview(hostedView)
+
+        window.makeKeyAndOrderFront(nil)
+        window.displayIfNeeded()
+        contentView.layoutSubtreeIfNeeded()
+        hostedView.setVisibleInUI(true)
+        hostedView.setActive(true)
+        RunLoop.current.run(until: Date().addingTimeInterval(0.05))
+
+        let searchState = TerminalSurface.SearchState(needle: "")
+        surface.searchState = searchState
+        hostedView.setSearchOverlay(searchState: searchState)
+        RunLoop.current.run(until: Date().addingTimeInterval(0.05))
+
+        guard let searchField = findEditableTextField(in: hostedView) else {
+            XCTFail("Expected mounted find text field")
+            return
+        }
+        window.makeFirstResponder(searchField)
+
+        var escapeKeyUpCount = 0
+        GhosttyNSView.debugGhosttySurfaceKeyEventObserver = { keyEvent in
+            guard keyEvent.action == GHOSTTY_ACTION_RELEASE, keyEvent.keycode == 53 else { return }
+            escapeKeyUpCount += 1
+        }
+
+        let timestamp = ProcessInfo.processInfo.systemUptime
+        guard let escapeKeyDown = NSEvent.keyEvent(
+            with: .keyDown,
+            location: .zero,
+            modifierFlags: [],
+            timestamp: timestamp,
+            windowNumber: window.windowNumber,
+            context: nil,
+            characters: "\u{1b}",
+            charactersIgnoringModifiers: "\u{1b}",
+            isARepeat: false,
+            keyCode: 53
+        ), let escapeKeyUp = NSEvent.keyEvent(
+            with: .keyUp,
+            location: .zero,
+            modifierFlags: [],
+            timestamp: timestamp + 0.001,
+            windowNumber: window.windowNumber,
+            context: nil,
+            characters: "\u{1b}",
+            charactersIgnoringModifiers: "\u{1b}",
+            isARepeat: false,
+            keyCode: 53
+        ) else {
+            XCTFail("Failed to construct Escape key events")
+            return
+        }
+
+        NSApp.sendEvent(escapeKeyDown)
+        NSApp.sendEvent(escapeKeyUp)
+        RunLoop.current.run(until: Date().addingTimeInterval(0.05))
+
+        XCTAssertNil(surface.searchState, "Escape should dismiss find overlay when search text is empty")
+        XCTAssertEqual(
+            escapeKeyUpCount,
+            0,
+            "Escape used to dismiss find overlay must not pass through to the terminal key-up path"
+        )
+    }
+
     func testKeyboardCopyModeIndicatorMountsAndUnmounts() {
         let surface = TerminalSurface(
             tabId: UUID(),