I do not agree that is is because they are middle class, there are other middle class families who have had children go missing and they did not have the same media attention.
I think the reason Madeleine got so much publicity is because of her age, she was only three years old, this is unusual and it would not be considered from the beginning that she might have run away (run aways get no media attention). It also makes us feel more concerned and upset for her because she is so young. The other reason is the extremely unusual circumstances of her disappearance, they were on holiday and she was taken from her bed, with her parents and other people nearby. This has not happened before to any child from UK and i think the public were in shock about it at first. If you think about the circumstances of other missing children they are more likely than this. The vast majority of children that go missing in this country are those who runaway from home, and next it is children who are taken by a family member, often the absent parent, these get little or no media coverage.
There have been other children who have had a lot, Jessica and Holly, Millie Dowler and Shannon. But the parents did not persist with the media as much as the McCann's have. As for the fund i do not agree there should be such a thing and i believe that money should go to charities across the world to help children in need. I hope Madeleine is found safe but do not believe all that money is necessary or fair.