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Residents of rural Claresholm, Alta., pride themselves on their generosity so, when a couple claiming to have been victims of the Fort McMurray fire strode into town recently, they went out of their way to help.

A real estate agent bought clothes for them, Roy’s Place diner fed them, and the Centennial Park Campground put them up in an RV.

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“Everybody’s been open and welcoming,” Darryl Rondeau gushed to the local newspaper in describing the hospitality he and his partner, Jaime Rondeau, had received from the community of 3,700 nestled midway between Calgary and Lethbridge.

But, according to police, it was an elaborate ruse.

RCMP spokesman Cpl. Dalyn Orsten said Monday an investigation determined the couple had no connection to the Fort McMurray fire, which has scorched more than 500,000 hectares and damaged or destroyed 2,400 buildings.

“We’re a small rural farming and ranching community,” he said. “It’s unfortunate that somebody takes advantage of (people’s generosity).”