SALEM, Ore. -- The uncle and grandfather of a child found wandering alone in a neighborhood Wednesday night were cited on charges of child endangerment.

A woman driving by stopped to help and called officers when she saw the 2-year-old girl wandering down 24th Avenue Southeast at about 9 p.m., police said.

One neighbor said a passerby found the girl, crying and alone on the street, and tried to find out where she belonged.

"When I came out, she was already in the arms of a passerby. A car had stopped and a lady was holding her and she was crying. And the lady hollered over to me, 'Do you know where this little girl lives?'" neighbor Ron Thompson said.

A police officer responded and then a man came and picked up the child and took her into a house on the northeast corner of the intersection.

"I walked over there, and just about that time a young man comes walking by and said, 'She's mine' or "She's with me,' and just grabbed her and walked on over into the house over there," Thompson said.

Investigators learned that the child's mother dropped the girl off at a home on the street for the child's uncle and grandfather could watch her, police said.

Officers entered the home to find out how the child had wandered away unnoticed and said they smelled fresh and burnt marijuana that indicated the uncle and grandfather had likely just smoked pot, police said.

They seized a small amount of marijuana and paraphernalia and cited Steven Pearson, 19, and Terry Daughtery, 38, on charges of reckless endangering and criminal mistreatment.

The child was released back to her mother. Neighbors said the child didn't appear to be physically hurt by the experience.

Toddler Found Wandering Alone At Night