But RCMP say they have no evidence that the Bashaw fire and the graffiti are linkedThis is a screenshot from a video of the fire that destroyed the Bashaw Motor Inn early Sunday morning. (Facebook/Brian Cabelka)

Racist graffiti was found at the scene of a deadly fire that burned a central Alberta motel to the ground last weekend, CBC News has learned.

RCMP issued a news release with few details Wednesday morning mentioning there was “graffiti damage to property” at the scene of a fire in Bashaw. Police said investigators have no evidence to suggest the fire and the graffiti are linked.

But sources with direct knowledge of the case told CBC the graffiti contained hate speech: a racial slur painted somewhere on the property. A few hours after CBC reported the racist element of the graffiti, RCMP issued a second press release confirming that detail.

Since neighbours reported hearing an explosion and watched flames destroy the Bashaw Motor Inn early Sunday morning, Bashaw residents in the town of 870 people have rallied around the Tiwana family, who lived in and operated the motel. More than $8,000 was raised over two days in a fundraising campaign.

The fire sent three people to hospital. CBC reported Tuesday those victims were three members of the Tiwana family: a mother and two sons.

RCMP discovered the remains of a fourth person found dead in the wreckage of the fire. That person remains unidentified. An autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday.

The Bashaw Motor Inn last changed hands six years ago. That’s when a company called Rajvir Parbhvir Enterprises Ltd. bought the property and the building. The company is publicly registered to two directors: Gurprett Tiwana and Barinder Tiwana.

The company bought the motel for $70,000. Service Alberta records show the property currently carries two mortgages worth $276,000 and $275,000 respectively.

The previous owner had the business for one year. A company called KNK Enterprises, registered to a man named Gurjit Dhaliwal, sold the property to the Tiwanas in 2010.