AND with the big reward money, he wouldn't have lasted long in Mexico. jmoI doubt he was heading down to Mexico, he would have stood out like a sore thumb down there, especially with his size.
There is a heavy African American population in the Houston/Galveston areas, and even more moved there after Hurricane Katrina.
He would certainly blend right in, and he might be able to find work in the oilfield or some sort of day labor in that area relatively easily.