The Madeleine McCann case is inextricably linked to the British tabloid press.

It was a media storm that hit the tranquil holiday resort of Praia da Luz in Portugal when a little British girl was reported missing just over 18 years ago.

Madeleine McCann, then three years old – often referred to in the media as Maddie – disappeared from her bed at a holiday resort while her parents were having dinner at a nearby restaurant. Not long afterward, the small town was overrun by journalists.

It was Madeleine's father, Gerry, a doctor from Scotland, who set a professional PR machine in motion. He wanted to prevent his daughter from disappearing from public view. The British tabloid media pounced on the case. Soon, it sparked worldwide interest, perhaps like no other missing person case before.

On the 18th anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance on May 3, the McCanns wrote on their website: "Our determination to leave no stone unturned is unwavering."

There is no trace of Madeleine, who would now be 22 years old. But the issue is currently making international headlines again. The background is a search operation by German authorities in Portugal. It is connected to the multiple-convicted sex offender Christian B., who has been considered a suspect in the case for several years. The Maddie case is once again on everyone's lips.

The girl's disappearance is not an isolated incident. The international organization for police cooperation, Interpol, lists 10,614 open missing persons cases on its website. Many of these include children, some even babies. The British police alone list nearly 1,500 long-term missing minors in its most recent report.

The media hype is said to have caused bewilderment and mistrust among the Portuguese police from the very beginning. This feeling was further exacerbated by the British newspapers' Anglo-Saxon superiority in reporting on the allegedly amateurish investigators from the southern European country.

Meanwhile, mother Kate and father Gerry McCann themselves are under suspicion. For a while, investigators considered it possible that the child may have died in an accident and that the parents had the body disappeared—and used the media hype as a diversionary tactic.

There is also speculation as to whether the media attention may have increased the pressure on a possible kidnapper to kill the girl to avoid detection.

Over time, the McCanns themselves become victims of the sensationalism of the British tabloids. The story about Maddie comes at a time when the British media is more unrestrained than ever. British journalists tap phones to obtain information about celebrities and crime victims. Nothing is considered sacred.

The now-defunct weekly newspaper "News of the World" published diary entries by Kate McCann from the time of her kidnapping without her consent - and later had to publicly apologize for it.

More than one million pounds in compensation and damages to the McCanns and their friends are flowing into a foundation the couple is establishing. They intend to use this to finance the search for their daughter. They are leaving no stone unturned: private investigators, a visit to then-Pope Benedict, a conversation with US talk show host Oprah Winfrey—every effort is being made to draw attention to their daughter's fate.

For a long time, it seemed as if the McCanns' strategy had failed. But if the Braunschweig public prosecutor's office's suspicions against Christian B. were to prove correct, this assessment could change dramatically. Even if this would likely dash their still-present hope of finding their daughter alive. Unlike the British investigators, the German public prosecutor's office firmly believes Madeleine is dead.