diff --git a/include/message.php b/include/message.php
index 88cfb7ba2..b063530d6 100644
--- a/include/message.php
+++ b/include/message.php
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ function send_message($uid = 0, $recipient='', $body='', $subject='', $replyto='
 	// look for any existing conversation structure
 
 	if(strlen($replyto)) {
-		$r = q("select convid from mail where uid = %d and ( mid = '%s' or parent_mid = '%s' ) limit 1",
+		$r = q("select convid from mail where channel_id = %d and ( mid = '%s' or parent_mid = '%s' ) limit 1",
 			intval(local_user()),
 			dbesc($replyto),
 			dbesc($replyto)