Three Cups Of Tea co-author David Oliver Relin has committed suicide at the age of 49.

The writer took his own life on 15 November (12) in Multnomah County, Oregon, reports the New York Times.

Relin had been suffering from depression at the time of his death, but his family has so far declined to release any further details about his passing.

Relin established himself as a journalist in the 1990s, and rose to fame in 2006 when he teamed up with former mountain climber Greg Mortenson to write the controversial book Three Cups of Tea, which chronicled Mortenson's efforts to build schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Relin and Mortenson's credibility was called into question in 2011 when a Tv expose on U.S. news show 60 Minutes accused the co-writers of fabricating a number of major points in the non-fiction tome, allegations the pair denied.