If the child responded that they were fine they would have been left to their own devices.
Or the neighbor would have had a key to the house and just let the child in.
Yes.
An issue here is the breakdown of the social fabric of a lot of neighborhoods. Whether it be because of the increasingly transient nature of society, kids spending much more time indoors, etc.
When I was this age, late ‘70s, I was under explict orders to go check in with one of our neighbors if I got home and my parents weren’t there. My Mom had cleared that with several of them ahead of time.
I had to do that once. Was provided a glass of lemonade and a couple HoHos, and told that I could either stay in her house or go outside, so long as I stayed within sight and earshot. If a cop had showed up asking where my parents were I’d just say I was being watched by Mrs. -——— and pointed to her house. The cop might have checked with her, but would have been ok with it. I think the same would apply today.