3169 improve search algorithm

[ilija-lazoroski]

What does this PR do?

Fixes part of #3169 .

Add any further explanations here.

PR Checklist

• Have you added an explanation of what your changes do and why you'd like to include them?
• Is the TravisCI build passing?
• Was the CHANGELOG.md updated to reflect the changes?
• Was the documentation framework updated to reflect the changes?
• Have you checked that you haven't introduced any duplicate code?

Testing Checklist

• Added relevant unit tests?
• Do all unit tests pass?
• Do all end-to-end tests pass?
• Any other testing performed?

  Tested by {Running the Monkey locally with relevant config/running Island/...}

• If applicable, add screenshots or log transcripts of the feature working

[mssalvatore]

Approved pending ETE tests.