WINSLOW — A 2-year-old boy who was walking alone on Benton Avenue on Tuesday was returned to his mother safely after police and firemen canvassed the neighborhood where he was found.

There were no signs of negligence and no one was charged, said Officer Brandon Lund.

About 6 p.m. Tuesday, a fireman found the boy — who was wearing only a diaper — on a sidewalk near the fire station, Lund said. The fireman carried the boy, whom Lund wouldn’t name, into the police station, where officers asked the toddler his name and address. When the boy couldn’t answer their questions, three officers and the fireman walked along Benton Avenue with the toddler in hopes that he would lead them to his home.

Less than 1,000 feet and 15 minutes later, the boy identified his mother’s parked car, Lund said. Police noticed that a door at a nearby house was ajar. When police knocked on the door, the boy’s mother answered.

After questioning the mother, whom Lund wouldn’t name, police determined that there was no negligence. The mother said she had returned home from a day of work recently and had fallen asleep for a few minutes.

While police were at the home, the boy demonstrated how he was able to let himself out of the house by moving a chair to the door, climbing on it and unlatching the sliding chain lock.

“He’s a really clever kid,” Lund said.

The boy’s parents told police they will install a new lock higher on the door, Lund said.

“It was a happy ending,” he added.

Earlier this month, police in Waterville summoned a man whose 2-year-old son was found wandering the city streets alone for the second time this year.