A motor and rotor catch assembly (10) for preventing loss of broken motor parts downhole. The assembly comprises a motor (12) including a rotor (16) supported inside a stator housing (18). A rotor bolt (30) is connected to the upper end of the rotor, and is supported for axial movement within a rotor bolt housing (24) from a running position to a deployed position. If the stator housing breaks or backs off, the attached rotor bolt shifts to the deployed position. In the deployed position, the bolt substantially reduces flow to the stator housing and simultaneously opens bypass ports (60) to vent fluid to the annulus instead. In this way, the rotor is prevented from spinning rapidly, the diverted fluid creates a pressure change that alerts the operator to the motor failure, and the diverted fluid allows continued removal of debris and cuttings from the well bore.