Boy Found on Street Is Back With His Mother

A 2-year-old boy has been reunited with his mother, more than a day after he was found wandering alone near a street corner wearing only pajamas and socks, authorities said.

Police said the boy had been in the temporary care of an aunt in Anaheim when he disappeared. It was not immediately known how he became lost, but instead of calling the police, the aunt called the Orange County Social Services Agency, Police Sgt. Michael Hannah said. That agency apparently never called police.

Hannah said the boy had been made a ward of the court, but he did not know why. The boy’s mother had physical custody of him, Hannah said, but she left him with a sister on Monday while she went to work.

“The child, as sometimes children do, got out somehow and the aunt reported it to the Orange County Social Services. At this point of the investigation, there doesn’t appear to be any areas of neglect,” Hannah said.

The boy, identified only as Raymond, stayed overnight at Orangewood Children’s Home in Orange after he was found about 7:30 a.m. Monday near Orangewood Avenue and Harbor Boulevard, said Gordon Andahl, Orangewood program manager.

The boy was released to his mother about 11 a.m. Tuesday, Andahl said.

Police have not identified the mother or the aunt and are continuing the investigation, he said.