diff --git a/lib/ae_page_objects/element_proxy.rb b/lib/ae_page_objects/element_proxy.rb
index c6094eb1..d9a73871 100644
--- a/lib/ae_page_objects/element_proxy.rb
+++ b/lib/ae_page_objects/element_proxy.rb
@@ -103,6 +103,14 @@ def method_missing(name, *args, &block)
       end
 
       implicit_element.__send__(name, *args, &block)
+    rescue AePageObjects::LoadingElementFailed
+      raise unless %w(to_s inspect).include? name.to_s
+
+      # The element is being serialized for debug / warning purposes.  In
+      # this situation it is a valid case that the element may not exist so
+      # instead of raising an error just return a string indicating that the
+      # element does not exist.
+      '[element not found]'
     end
 
     def respond_to?(*args)
diff --git a/test/unit/element_proxy_test.rb b/test/unit/element_proxy_test.rb
index 90e7deae..bed5ad4b 100644
--- a/test/unit/element_proxy_test.rb
+++ b/test/unit/element_proxy_test.rb
@@ -115,6 +115,18 @@ def test_absent__element_not_found
       assert proxy.absent?(wait: 20)
     end
 
+    def test_inspect__element_not_found
+      proxy = new_proxy
+      element_class.expects(:new).raises(AePageObjects::LoadingElementFailed)
+      assert_equal '[element not found]', proxy.inspect
+    end
+
+    def test_to_s__element_not_found
+      proxy = new_proxy
+      element_class.expects(:new).raises(AePageObjects::LoadingElementFailed)
+      assert_equal '[element not found]', proxy.to_s
+    end
+
     def test_presence
       proxy = new_proxy