You cut off some of the best parts of the article:
The women were a sheriff’s deputy and her assistant, who were taking part in a sting operation after a recent spate of similar incidents in the area.
(Kayaking around on a river all weekend, boy they really hit the lottery on sting operations! Better than sitting in an old van drinking stale coffee for 16 hours.)
Hanson said Wednesday that the sheriff’s office has investigated four indecent exposure incidents in the area during the past two weeks, but added: “This has been going on for years.”
(So, he’s apparently either a serial flasher, or this stretch of river is just a hotspot for that activity. Is this some sort of successful pick-up line in Michigan that I don’t know about?)