diff --git a/salt/fileclient.py b/salt/fileclient.py
index 90863626a348..15c5357b7980 100644
--- a/salt/fileclient.py
+++ b/salt/fileclient.py
@@ -411,6 +411,9 @@ def _find_file(self, path, env='base'):
                'rel': ''}
         if env not in self.opts['file_roots']:
             return fnd
+        if path.startswith('|'):
+            # The path arguments are escaped
+            path = path[1:]
         for root in self.opts['file_roots'][env]:
             full = os.path.join(root, path)
             if os.path.isfile(full):